The Long Way Home
by lucyjane423
Summary: Kate Matthews got married and alienated herself from all of her friends and family. Now her marriage is over, she's moved home, and the only friend she cares about reconnecting with is Daryl Dixon. Is he still there? Will he have her? Will their relationship be strained? Read on to find out. AU/Pre-Zombie Apocalypse. Rated M for content and future chapters. Daryl/OFC.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's** **Note:**_ **This is my first Walking Dead fic, and it's an idea that's been floating around in my head for a couple of days now. I plan on updating pretty frequently, but reviews help to fuel my creativity! :) Kidding, but really, if you like it, let me know. If you hate it, let me know (but please be nice about it). Ask questions, you may help me come up with new plotlines or ideas by asking!**

**Now for the needed disclaimer: I do not own any of the Walking Dead characters. Kate Matthews and her dysfunctional family and ex-husband belong to me. **

**Enjoy!**

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"No, no, no!" Kate Matthews struck the steering wheel with her palm, cursing as she felt the car shudder and saw the check engine light come on. "Fucking piece of shit," she admonished, glancing at the signs on the side of the road, hoping to see one for a mechanic or car dealership. Interstate 75 just outside of Marietta on a Saturday afternoon was not a place someone wanted to break down. Kate pulled the car over into the right-hand lane, slowing down so she could read the signs as she drove past. She finally saw a sign for a mechanic, at the next exit, about a half-mile ahead. "Thank God," she breathed, making a face as the air conditioning finally gave out and shut off. Rolling her eyes, she rolled the windows down and carefully made her way to the exit. At least it wasn't raining.

Kate's year had been less than ideal, and this week had been especially shitty. She had just gotten out of an abusive marriage to a man who loved his job and his alcohol more than her, and had moved back to her hometown of Marietta, Georgia, after living with her husband about two hours north in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She hadn't told anyone she was coming back, and it's not like any of them would have had her back anyway. No one liked Kate's (ex) husband, Corey Daniels. He was an engineer, and very charming, on the surface. He'd won Kate over in grad school at UGA, and despite her mother's warnings that he wasn't what he seemed and the arguments she'd had with her friends about how awful he was for her, she married him and followed him to Chattanooga. Corey had gotten a job as a professor at the university there, and Kate landed a job writing for the local paper. It wasn't a dream job, but she had seen it as a step in the right direction.

Not long after the wedding, Corey had begun to show his true colors. He came home drunk one night and smacked her across the face because she'd put the toilet paper on the roll the wrong way. The next morning he was extremely apologetic and promised never to do it again. It was all a lie, of course, and he did do it again, over and over, throughout the course of their five-year marriage. Kate had sustained broken ribs, a broken nose, more black eyes than she could count, and countless bumps and bruises. She wasn't sure why she had stayed with him for so long. Part of it was that she really had nowhere to go. Corey had forced her to alienate herself from her parents and her friends, and she was too embarrassed at this point to call any of them for help because doing so would have meant she had to admit that she'd been wrong. Her parents had since moved away to Florida to retire, and her friends... well, if any of them remained in Marietta, she was sure she'd have to walk across coals to get them to welcome her back into her lives.

Kate had never really had a very large group of friends, and the ones she did have had been in her life since she was a kid. The majority of them had been male. Her best friend growing up was her next-door neighbor, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy named Daryl Dixon. Daryl and his older brother, Merle, grew up in a broken home, with an abusive father and an absentee, alcoholic mother. Kate and Daryl had become friends at school, in third grade, when she stood up to a bully who was picking on him for being poor. They'd been inseparable ever since. Daryl and Merle were what was commonly referred to as "rednecks," and they taught Kate a lot about hunting and fishing and living off the land. Every weekend in the summer, the three of them were out camping in the woods behind their houses. Daryl had been Kate's first kiss. They were both fourteen. They decided after the kiss that it would be too weird to be a couple (even though everyone always thought they were a couple anyway), and chose to remain best friends. And best friends they had been, until she met Corey and that whole thing happened.

Kate spent a lot of nights awake, reliving the night she told Daryl she was going to marry Corey. Daryl had looked truly heartbroken, but had put on a brave face and simply told her that he couldn't respect anyone who chose to be with an asshole like Corey. She'd yelled at him, told him he was being selfish, and just wanted him to be happy for her. She never forgot the last thing he said to her: "Katie, I love you and I want you to be happy, but I can't be happy for you. Not if you're gonna end up with that guy. It's a mistake. You'll figure it out – and when you do, it'll be too late. I can't watch you do this. I'm sorry."

The divorce was finalized three weeks ago, and Kate had driven up to Chattanooga that morning to collect the rest of her things from the home she'd shared with Corey. He was supposed to be at a faculty softball game all day, so Kate expected the entire thing to take maybe an hour and to happen without incident. As she was loading the rest of her things into the trunk of the car, Corey came swerving down the street and veered into the driveway, nearly hitting her. It was only noon, and that bastard was drunk. Kate wouldn't make eye contact with him as he stumbled out of his truck, but as soon as he saw her, he started.

"Hey, baby. I knew you'd be back," he slurred, swerving as he ambled over to her.

"I'm not back, Corey. I'm getting my things and I'm going home," she replied, not looking up from the box she was currently stuffing into the trunk.

"What are you talking about? You are home." Corey stepped up behind her and put his hands on her hips, breathing on her neck. Kate stiffened. She spoke through her teeth, her voice low, a warning.

"Get your hands off me."

"Now, now, don't you be like that. I've missed you." He started to slide his hands up toward her ribcage.

"Get. Your hands. Off me. I'm not going to tell you again." She placed her hands on top of his and tried to push them away, but his grip only tightened and her heart began to thud in her chest.

"Come on, baby. You know you like it," he whispered, his mouth grazing her ear. Kate shuddered and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before lifting her foot and bringing it down, hard, on top of his. "Fuck!" Corey's fingers dug into her hips and he spun her around, pinning her to her car. "Kate, Kate, stupid Kate. What have I told you about fighting back? You can't do it." He lifted his left hand and slapped her hard across the face. Her left eye immediately began to bruise and she whimpered, willing herself not to scream or cry. Corey's hands started to inch their way under her shirt, and she had to bite back the urge to vomit all over him. "What? You don't have anything to say?" he asked, his voice menacing. "I knew you missed me." He leaned forward to run his nose along the side of her neck, and that was when she made her move.

Kate lifted her leg and swiftly kneed him in the crotch, and when he lost his grip on her and backed up, she took the opportunity to swing with her fist, and she did, connecting soundly with his nose. Once he was on the ground, she closed her trunk and smoothly stepped around him, got in her car, and shut the door.

"You bitch! You broke my fucking nose!" he screamed after her, writhing in pain on the ground.

"I told you to get your fucking hands off me," she said calmly, starting the car. "Have a nice life, asshole." And with that, she drove away.

That had been two hours ago. Kate shook her head to clear it of the recent memory and chanced a glance at herself in the rear view mirror. She grimaced. The outside of her left eye was considerably bruised and swollen. "At least it's Saturday," she murmured to herself, sliding her oversized sunglasses down over her eyes. "By Monday morning I'll be able to cover it up." She was pulling off of the exit now, following the signs to the mechanic. It was a mid-sized building, slightly off the road and surrounded by a massive wooded area. There were several dead cars and motorcycles littering the front yard, and two large bay doors stood wide open. They didn't look very busy, but they were open and were probably her only hope in getting back to her apartment downtown. Slowing down, Kate turned into the driveway and noticed the business name for the first time.

Dixon Brothers Auto Repair.

"No. No, no," she said, shaking her head. Putting the car in park, Kate considered backing out and trying to find another mechanic, but it was too late. Out of the garage walked Merle Dixon himself, a cigarette hanging from his lips. He'd seen her. It was too late now.

"Fuck."


	2. Chapter 2

Kate realized she could only sit in her car for so long before she started to look like a weirdo, so she took a deep breath, made sure her sunglasses were adequately hiding her bruised eye, and got out of the car.

"Well, well, well, howdy there, girlie," Merle said, walking up to her. "What brings you to our neck a the woods?" Kate cleared her throat and managed a small smile. He hadn't recognized her yet.

"I was driving down 75 and the check engine light came on," she said, "and then the air conditioning quit working. Think you could take a look?" There was a long pause, and Kate shifted uncomfortably. Merle was staring at her.

"I know you," he said. Kate shook her head. "Naw, girlie, I know you. You look familiar, and your voice sounds awful familiar... what'd you say your name was?"

"I didn't," she replied. "It's Kate."

"Kate what?" She hesitated, and Merle grinned. "Come on, girlie, I ain't got all day. I'ma find out your name eventually, so you might as well tell me. Kate what?"

"Dani.. ahem. Matthews. Kate Matthews," she said, catching herself. She still wasn't used to using her maiden name again after all these years. Merle blinked and took a drag off of his cigarette as he continued to stare at her.

"Matthews. Kate Matthews," he repeated, searching his brain to make sure he hadn't slept with this girl. No, she was too uptight, wasn't his type. He knew he knew her... and then the light bulb came on. "Holy shit. Katie Matthews? Little Katie Matthews from next door?" Kate chuckled and nodded her head slightly.

"How ya doin', Merle?"

"Holy shit! Come here, girl, give ol' Merle a hug," he said, tossing his cigarette to the side and walking towards her. Kate met him halfway and hugged him, feeling a little awkward about the whole thing. She and Merle had been friends, but nowhere near as close as she and Daryl had been. If she thought about it, Merle was really just an annoying acquaintance who had to be around all the time because he was protective of his baby brother. He was drunk or high a lot of the time when they were growing up and he butted heads with Kate on a lot of things. She was convinced that she was the only female he had ever really respected, though, and that's why they managed to get along.

Merle stepped back and appraised Kate, giving a low whistle as he looked her up and down. Had it been anyone else, she would have been creeped out, but she supposed she was used to this sort of behavior from him. Even after all these years, he still couldn't help himself. She wasn't an unattractive woman; five-foot-four, curvy but toned, long mahogany hair and bright green eyes. A catch, by most definitions. "So what're you doin' back down here, girlie?" he asked, reaching into his pocket for another cigarette.

"I, ah, I just moved back about a month ago," she said, taking a step back and leaning against her car.

"Oh, you got homesick, huh?"

"Something like that."

"What's your hubby think of being back down here?"

Kate shrugged. "He doesn't think anything. He's not with me."

Merle laughed. "Ha, didya kill him? Are you on the run, girlie? Is that why you're here?"

"I wish," she said under her breath, before clearing her throat. "No, no. I left him." Merle coughed, eyes wide. "What?"

"Nothin', nothin'. I just didn't figure you to be the type to give up on a marriage. That's all."

"I'm not the type to give up on anything," she said, looking down at the ground briefly before glancing up at Merle. "He just didn't give me much choice."

Merle considered that as he took a drag on his cigarette, and nodded slowly. He looked Kate over again, and his eyes darkened when he realized she still had her sunglasses on. It was an overcast day. "What're you wearin' them glasses for? It's cloudy."

Kate shifted her weight from one foot to the other, then back again. The wind picked up and blew her hair wildly around her face. "I needed them to drive," she fibbed. "It may be cloudy, but there was still a glare."

"You ain't drivin' now."

"Yeah, and?"

"Katie. Take them damn glasses off and let me see your face before I drive up to Chattanooga and fuck that guy up myself." Kate sighed, and slowly removed her glasses. She saw Merle bite down on his lip as he looked at the bruising around her eye. "He did this to you?" She nodded. "Today?" She nodded again. "That why you left him?"

"It's part of it."

"How long has it gone on?"

"Too long." She paused. "You don't have to go up there, though. I fucked him up pretty good before I left." Merle looked surprised. His eyes widened and he motioned for her to continue. "Broke his nose," she said with a shrug. "Pretty sure I destroyed his ability to have kids."

"Atta girl," Merle said, patting her on the shoulder. "Still, Daryl ain't gonna be happy when he hears why you're back."

At mention of Daryl, Kate's heart leapt into her throat. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to see Daryl. Well, no, that was a lie – she wanted to see Daryl but she knew he didn't want to see her. She'd found out from a mutual friend that her marriage had broken Daryl's heart and that as a result, he never dated. Of course, it had been five years... maybe he had gotten over it and moved on.

"Oh, Merle, you're not gonna tell him, are you?" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

"Whatchu mean, I ain't gonna tell him? 'Course I'm gonna tell him. He's my brother. You're his best friend."

"Was. I was his best friend."

"Oh, girlie, you have no idea what you're talkin' about. He talks about you all the time."

"What?"

"Yeah. He does. I mean, most of the time it's shit like, 'I wonder how many kids Katie's got with that prick'. But he does." Kate had to smile at that. It was definitely something Daryl would say.

"I just... He was so mad at me when I left, Merle."

"Yeah, he was. Shit, we all was. Fuckin' leavin' us for some uppity Ivy League faggot.."

"Merle."

"Sorry. None of us liked him much, you know?"

"I know."

"Anyway. I'ma tell him you're back, but I won't tell him why, aight?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, what's goin' on with this piece of shit Toyota you're drivin'?"

Kate hung out at the garage with Merle while he and his assistant, Randy, looked over her car. She was nervous because she had the feeling that Daryl would show up any second, but when Merle took off for his twentieth smoke break of the day, Randy mentioned that Daryl had gone into town to take care of some things for the day. That helped her to relax a little. They determined that they would need to order a couple of parts to fix her car and that they'd have them in the next day, and since they didn't have a car they could loan her, Merle offered to give her a ride home in his truck. He promised that if they didn't get her car fixed on Sunday, he would personally come and drive her to work on Monday morning. Kate mentally prepared to call in sick to work on Monday.

Merle pulled up in front of Katie's apartment, a modest one-level condo in the middle of a suburban area with its own driveway and covered parking area. He helped her get her things out and gave her another hug.

"Thanks again for everything today, Merle."

"Anytime, girlie. Glad you're back."

"Me too. And thanks for promising not to tell Daryl. You promise, right?"

"I promise," Merle replied, grinning and holding up his right hand. "Get inside. Someone will call you tomorrow." He watched her go in and waited until she closed her door before pulling out of her driveway. He immediately pulled out his phone and dialed his brother.

Merle was full of shit, and Kate should have known it, but for whatever reason she believed that he wouldn't tell Daryl that she was back, or why, or where she was staying.

"Hey, little brother," Merle said, pulling back out onto the highway toward the house he shared with Daryl. "You'll never believe who's back in town."

Since Kate didn't have her car, and not much food in the house, she had to resort to ordering a pizza for dinner. They told her it would be close to an hour before it arrived, so she figured she should make the best of her time and work on unpacking some boxes. She didn't have cable yet, didn't really see a need for it, didn't want to waste her time in front of a television when there was work to be done. So she put on some music and started unpacking.

The doorbell rang about thirty minutes later, startling Kate out of her groove. "Just a minute!" she yelled, running to turn the music down and dig her wallet out of her purse. She pulled her hair out of her face and put it into a messy bun on top of her head before opening the door. "That was fast," she said, reaching into her wallet. "I wasn't expecting you for another... Daryl?"

Kate looked up, and into the blue eyes that had haunted her dreams for the last five years. Daryl looked older, but not old.. there were the beginnings of lines around his eyes, and the way he was staring at her would have scared anyone into submission. He wasn't staring at her, he was staring at the bruise on her face. And he was scowling. Kate dropped her wallet on the floor behind her. "Daryl."

It wasn't until she said his name a second time that he looked at her, really looked at her, and blinked. Without a word, he took a step towards her and gingerly grabbed her face with both hands and tilted it up, so he could see the bruise in the light. "I'll fucking kill him," he said, abruptly dropping his hands and walking away, toward his motorcycle. Kate yelled after him.

"Daryl Dixon! Get your ass back here. Right. Now!" Daryl stopped at the end of her driveway and turned around and saw her standing in her doorway, hands on her hips, an exasperated expression on her face. He sighed and started to walk back toward her. When he reached the doorway, his arms immediately went around her waist and he pulled her close.

"Katie. Katie, Katie," he said, kissing the top of her head. He pulled back far enough to look down at her. "Are you okay?"

"I will be," she said with a nod. "But I'm going to fucking kill your brother. Him and his big fucking mouth." She stepped back and moved over so he could come inside. "Wanna come in? I ordered a pizza. We can talk." Daryl hesitated before nodding and stepping into the living room. Kate sighed and shut the door behind her, not at all prepared for the conversation they were about to have.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: You guys are awesome! Thanks so much for the reviews/follows/favs. I really appreciate it. Sorry it took me a week to get this chapter out to you - it took me awhile to get it where I wanted it. I hope to be updating at least once a week, if not more.**

**This chapter's a little angsty, but we need to get the angst out of the way so that the good stuff can happen. Thanks for bearing with me. Enjoy! **

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Daryl had spent his Saturday off from the shop doing what he loved the most: stalking around the woods with a knife and a crossbow, hunting. Sure, he had guns, but there was something about silently taking down his kills that sent a thrill through him. Guns were too loud and alerted all of the animals that they were in danger. Daryl preferred to be stealthy. He was a skilled hunter, moving smoothly through the woods, his feet barely making a sound.

He had been following one deer in particular for awhile now, and was ready to make his move... when the phone in his pocket starting ringing. The shrill noise from the phone spooked the deer and it ran. Pissed, Daryl threw his crossbow to the ground and pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was Merle. Of course.

"Goddammit, Merle, someone had best be dead or dyin'," he growled into the phone. Merle laughed on the other end of the line.

"Hey, little brother. You'll never guess who's back in town."

"What the fuck, Merle. Dinner just ran off 'cause of your dumb ass."

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Darylina. Guess who's back in town." Daryl rolled his eyes. He wasn't in the mood for one of Merle's asinine guessing games. Or for Merle in general. He had been enjoying his Merle-less day up to this point.

"This shit couldn't wait till I got home?"

"Naw. Guess."

"Goddammit, Merle..."

"Come on, little brother. I swear I'll leave ya alone after you guess." Daryl answered his brother with a loud, impatient sigh, and wracked his brain for the name of someone, anyone, who might have left town and would have been dumb enough to come back. Only one name kept pushing its way to the forefront of his mind, and he shook his head to make it go away. It would be a cold day in hell before Kate Matthews ever came back to town, that much he knew.

"Fuck, I don't know, Merle. Who was stupid enough to want to come back here?"

"Who was stupid enough to leave in the first place?" Daryl's breath caught in his throat. _No way_, he thought.

"No... you're fuckin' with me."

"I'm not."

"Kate?"

"Yup." At Merle's confirmation, Daryl had to sit down. Kate had been his best friend from the time they were in the third grade. She'd been his first kiss, and she'd been the first – and only – girl he ever loved. He never told her how he felt because he never thought he was good enough for her; he had come from a broken home with an abusive father, and he was as redneck as they came. She came from a good family and had graduated from college, and he had always wanted more for her than the life he could have offered her. It broke his heart when she went and married that asshole who was never good enough for her. Of course, that's not something he'd ever tell her, but he had always hoped that she knew.

After she left and moved to Chattanooga, no one ever heard from her. He figured that she was just settling into her new life as a housewife and getting adjusted to her new job at the newspaper, but then a year passed and her parents hadn't even heard from her. Daryl had all but written her off as a flake at that point, and he had become bitter. He went on dates and slept with some of the women he went out with, but none of them ever became anything more to him than a piece of ass. None of them ever compared to Kate, and none of them ever would, and that was that. He'd resigned himself to being a bachelor for the rest of his life.

"Yo, Darylina. You still there? Did ya pass out?" Merle's teasing brought Daryl out of his thoughts.

"Whatchu mean she's back, Merle?"

"She's back. Has been for about a month. Has a house here and everything."

"Where'd you see her?"

"Brought her car into the shop today. Check engine light came on and the a/c quit while she was drivin' home. Had to leave her car there so I took her to her house."

"She by herself?"

"Yup. She up and left his dumb ass in Chattanooga. Using her maiden name again." Huh. Daryl never figured Kate would be the type to get a divorce. Especially not from someone she was supposed to be so in love with that she let him uproot her from everything she knew and take her away.

"Did she say why?"

"Didn't have to."

"What do you mean?"

"She showed me."

"She showed you? Showed you what?"

"You ain't gonna like it."

"Merle."

"She told me not to tell you."

"What the fuck? She told you not to tell me? What did she show you?" Daryl was mad now. Mad at Merle, for getting to see her. Mad at her, for leaving and never calling and then all of a sudden showing up. Mad at himself, for never telling her how he felt all those years ago. Mad. Mad as hell.

"You ain't gonna like it," Merle repeated.

"Fuckin' tell me before I come home and shoot your ass with my bow."

"Aight, damn. Shit. She had a black eye." Daryl was silent, so Merle continued. "She went back to Chattanooga to get the rest of her shit today, and he was there and he hit her. Wasn't the first time, neither. He's been beatin' her since right after they moved up there."

Daryl could hear Merle talking, but all he could see was red. After the way he grew up, he couldn't stand men who hit women. They were the lowest of the low. And this scumbag, the one his Katie – _his Katie?_ - trusted enough to marry and move away with, had the nerve to beat her? He had half a mind to go up there and kill the man himself. Merle was still talking when Daryl finally said something in response.

"Tell me where she lives." Daryl's voice was low, menacing.

"What? Naw, man."

"Merle. I'ma come home and get changed and then I'm getting on my bike and going over there. Tell me where she lives."

"Aight, fine. But if she asks, I'ma tell her that you threatened to beat me within an inch a my life if I didn't tell you."

Daryl made it back to the house he shared with his brother in one piece, which was lucky considering he was so pissed off that he was shaking the entire drive home. He was silent as he unloaded the truck, listening to Merle jabber on and on about some big-tittied honey that he was going to seal the deal with tonight. Daryl quickly got a shower, got dressed and got the address from Merle before jumping on his bike and heading to Kate's house.

The weather was nice enough that most people in Kate's neighborhood had their windows open, and Kate was no exception. As he climbed off of his bike, he could hear music coming from her house, and he could hear her singing along. Daryl smirked to himself, at least Kate's love of bad 80s pop and her bad singing hadn't changed. He started to walk up the driveway and his heart began thudding loudly inside his chest. His palms were starting to sweat, too. He cursed under his breath and wiped his hands on his jeans before knocking on the door. Kate's singing stopped and she turned the music down.

"Just a minute!" he heard her yell, and he heard her bare feet padding across the floor. This was it. He could either stand there and face the girl who unknowingly broke his heart, or he could chicken out and leave. He heard Kate unlock the door and start to pull it open, and all he could do was stare. "That was fast," Kate was saying, reaching into her wallet. She hadn't seen him yet. "I wasn't expecting you for... Daryl?"

And then Daryl was looking into the green eyes that had been in his thoughts at least once daily for the last five years. She looked like she had just seen a ghost, and somewhere in the background he heard the thud of her wallet hit the wooden floor behind her. She looked exactly the same.. a little older, and the spark that used to be in her eyes was long gone. She looked... tired. Worn down. And then he saw the bruising around her left eye.

Daryl threatened to kill her ex-husband, but Kate managed to talk him down and somehow convinced him to come inside so they could talk. She'd ordered a pizza. He had no idea what there was to possibly talk about, but he couldn't tell her no. Not after all this time, not after she was back. Even though he had to find out about her being back from his brother.

Now Daryl sat awkwardly on one end of the couch as Kate took her seat on the other. They sat there, staring at each other, Kate wringing her hands. Neither of them knew where to start, or what to say, and Kate was surprised that it was Daryl who spoke first.

"What the hell, Katie?" he asked, his voice a gruff whisper. She looked at him and shrugged before looking down at her lap.

"I don't know what you mean, Daryl."

"What I mean is, no one sees you or hears from you in five damn years, and then all of a sudden you show up, all alone, with fuckin' bruises on your face. What the hell."

"Daryl, I -"

"Don't give me some bullshit about how that asshole wouldn't let you do nothin', neither." Daryl was getting mad now, and he allowed himself to raise his voice to her. "The Katie I knew never woulda put up with that kind of shit."

"I.. don't know what to say," she replied, shaking her head. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry. You're sorry? Really? Katie, I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

"I know."

"Oh, you do, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, well, I think you're lyin'."

Kate looked up at Daryl and narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?"

"You're fuckin' lyin'."

"What the fuck does that even mean?" She was getting mad now, and Daryl could see her eyes spark a little bit. His Katie was in there somewhere.

"You don't know shit, Katie. You don't know how awful it was around here with you gone, how upset your mama and daddy were that you never called or came around. You don't know. You were just up there in your little happy marriage bubble, and you fuckin' forgot about the rest of us."

"Daryl. You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really."

"Then fuckin' enlighten me, then."

"What?"

"Tell me what happened to you. Why you disappeared on me. On all of us."

"Daryl -"

"Tell me."

"I can't," Kate whispered, dropping her gaze to her lap again.

"Well, then we ain't got nothin' to talk about," Daryl said, standing up and heading for the door. To hell with her, if she didn't want to talk to him, really talk to him, then he didn't need to be there. As he reached the door handle, he heard Kate take a deep breath, and let it out in what sounded like a sob.

"Okay," she whispered. Daryl stood still with his back to her. He wasn't sure he'd heard her. She cleared her throat and spoke again, louder this time. "Okay." Daryl turned around and looked at her. She wasn't crying, but her eyes were red-rimmed and her face was flushed. He stared at her and waited for her to start talking.

"Well?"

"You're just gonna stand there?"

"Yup. Start talkin'."

"God damn, you are just as stubborn as ever, Daryl. Fine." Kate started at the beginning, and told Daryl everything – from the first time he'd hit her, to the nights he came home drunk, to the time he landed her in the hospital with broken ribs from pushing her down the stairs. Kate talked for what seemed like hours, and all Daryl could do was stand there and listen to her. He wasn't sure what to think, or what else to do, so he listened. Kate looked and felt exhausted by the time she was done. "And so now I'm here, and now you know everything," she said, breaking eye contact with him again and looking down at her lap. She waited for him to speak, but he never said anything, he only stared at her.

The doorbell rang, startling both of them. It was the pizza she'd ordered. Daryl opened the door, paid for the pizza and set it down on the coffee table. Without a word, he looked at Kate one more time before turning and walking out the door, getting on his bike, and leaving.


	4. Chapter 4

Kate waited until she heard Daryl's bike take off before she got up from her spot on the couch. Him leaving like that wasn't anything new; he would often get too worked up about something to form words and instead would just leave. Still, she wasn't quite expecting that sort of reaction from him. It pissed her off, and after she flipped the outside light on and locked the door, she gave the door a swift kick with her bare foot. And then she immediately regretted it.

"Fuck!" she shouted, hopping around as she rubbed her toe, which stung pretty damn bad after having kicked the door. "Fuck you, Dixon," she said out loud to the empty room. What gave him the right? Showing up unannounced, demanding she tell him every damn thing and then just leaving like that? No. If he did come back - the odds of this happening were pretty low, but he was Daryl and he was predictable and he usually did come back eventually - she would give him a piece of her mind. And she would expect him to do the same. He'd let her off pretty easy before, considering. Kate sighed and turned back towards the open kitchen, eyeing the untouched pizza he had paid for lying on the coffee table. Disgusted with herself, her appetite gone, Kate picked up the box and put it in the fridge before going into the bathroom for a much-needed shower.

Daryl rode around town aimlessly for hours, thinking. His reunion with Kate had not gone at all like he had expected it to. But then, what had be really been expecting? Was he expecting her to fall all over him and declare her undying love for him? Well, no, because that would have been fucking weird. He wasn't really sure what he'd expected, but he sure as hell was not prepared to see the mess his Katie had become. It really threw him for a loop. She looked so...weak. Defeated. Tired. Not at all like the little spitfire he had grown up with and fallen in love with all those years ago. That ex-husband of hers, that Corey asshole (and what the hell kind of pussy-ass name was Corey, anyway?) had broken her. Kate had always been strong, but after five years of the kind of abuse she'd endured, Daryl almost couldn't blame her for giving up. Almost. He was sort of pissed that she had given up. She was better than that. He was going to remind her of that, somehow. He just didn't know how or where to start.

Daryl pulled over to the side of the dark highway and turned off the bike. He'd had some time to cool off, and, more importantly, some time to think. He knew he couldn't just leave things like that with her. He knew he had to go back and try to make it right, and the sooner the better. Pushing the hair out of his eyes, Daryl pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. It was late, almost midnight, but he knew that Kate would probably still be up. He knew he needed to apologize to her, at least.

"Fuck," he breathed, sighing before getting back on his bike and heading back to Kate's house.

The soft knock on the door startled Kate out of her train of thought. She'd put a movie in after her shower, just to have some sort of noise to fill the background with. Glancing at the clock and seeing how late it was, she knew that it could only be Daryl. Kate took a deep breath and padded across the floor to the door, peering through the peephole before pulling it open. There Daryl stood, looking rather sheepish, his dirty blonde hair turned a weird orange hue in the light from the porch.

The first thing Daryl noticed about Kate is that she had changed her clothes, and that she'd taken a shower. Her long hair hung loose and damp around her face, curling slightly at the ends. The bruising around her left eye was not nearly as prominent as it had been earlier due to the hair that fell in front of it. The second thing he noticed was what she was wearing: black yoga pants, and a threadbare Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt that seemed vaguely familiar...

"You wearin' my shirt?" he asked her, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. Kate furrowed her brow and glanced down at what she had on. It took her a minute, but then she smiled slightly and nodded as she looked back up at him.

"Yeah, guess I am."

"I've been lookin' for that shirt for years," he said, causing Kate to scoff.

"Whatever, you didn't even notice it was gone," she said, stepping to the side and letting him come in. Another weird way to start a conversation, but with Daryl, nothing really surprised her. At least he wasn't yelling at her.

"Did too." He turned and watched her as she closed the door, noticing the way his shirt clinged to her soft curves as she moved. He couldn't help but think just how damn good she looked in his clothes. He quickly shook his head to clear it of any more of those types of thoughts. "How'd you end up with it?"

Kate grinned. "You stuck it in my bag on that last camping trip we took, hoping I'd wash it for you. I washed it, but then I decided I liked it a lot, so I kept it." She walked past him and into the kitchen. "You want a beer?"

"Sure," he said, sitting down on the couch. "That's not why I stuck the shirt in your bag."

"Yeah? Then why did you?"

"Thought it was my bag."

"Bullshit," Kate said, walking back into the living room with two beers. She handed him one and sat down.

"Really, I did. I recall losing a pair of boxers on that trip, too," he replied, taking a swig of his beer. Kate looked away from him in response and glanced up at the ceiling as she drank from her own bottle. Daryl laughed. "You stole them too?"

"I didn't steal a thing from you, Daryl Dixon. I thought you were giving them to me as going-away presents." Daryl could only smile and shake his head. They were both quiet for a moment before he spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Katie. About before." Kate didn't say anything, she only nodded, so Daryl continued. "It's just.. when Merle called me and told me you were back, and then told me _why_ you were back, all I saw was red. I just had to see you, to make sure you were okay." He paused, glancing over at her. Kate was staring down at her feet and dangling her beer bottle from her fingertips. "I know why you left, and I know why you stayed away, but I don't _understand_ it. And I won't understand it until you explain it to me, I guess." Daryl took a swig from his beer and looked over at Kate expectantly. He stared at her until she looked up and locked eyes with him.

"I.." she began, and stopped. Kate sighed and shook her head. "It's hard to explain. I just don't even know where to begin."

"The beginnin' would be good."

"Smartass."

Daryl smirked at that. "Okay, so tell me this, then – your parents know you left him?"

"Yes."

"And they know you're back here?"

"Yes."

"Have you seen 'em?"

"My parents moved to Florida last year."

"You plannin' on seein' 'em?"

"Yes, I was planning on visiting them at Christmas. I talk to my mom every day. We're in a good place."

Daryl seemed satisfied with her answer, so he nodded. "Good. I wondered. They were worried about you, ya know."

"I know."

"So was I."

"I know."

"I don't think you do."

"Wanna explain it to me?" Kate asked, sipping her beer.

"Not especially. Not till you tell me what the hell happened with you. To you. Whatever."

"I forgot what a stubborn ass you could be, Daryl."

"Takes one to know one, Katie."

Kate laughed, and shook her head. It took her a few minutes to gain her composure to tell Daryl about the last five years of her life. For some reason, the thought of spilling it made her nervous. She wasn't sure if it was because talking about it made it all real, or if it was because she was talking about it to Daryl. She always looked up to him, and she always wanted him to be proud of her. This story was nothing for anyone to be proud of.

"Okay," she said, draining her beer. She stood to go into the kitchen for another. "I'm getting another one, you want one?" Daryl answered with a nod and Kate disappeared into the kitchen for a second before returning with two more beers. She sat back down on the sofa, a little closer to Daryl this time. He noticed her proximity to him and wondered briefly if she'd done that on purpose, or if she even noticed that she'd done it. No matter, what he came back for was to apologize and to see if maybe she'd talk to him.

Kate shifted nervously in her seat, took a deep breath, and let it out. "Okay," she said again. "Corey wasn't always an abusive asshole," she began, staring at her feet as she spoke. "He was really very sweet, and romantic, and he made me laugh. He treated me so wonderfully, in the beginning. And then he got the job in Chattanooga, we moved, and..." Kate sighed, and raised her eyes to look at Daryl, who was watching her intently.

"And?" he asked, his voice low.

"And then things just... shifted. He started staying out later and later, and he would come home smelling like alcohol. It was always some excuse. His students needed help with study questions, he had to stay late to work on lesson plans... whatever. And then one night he came home around eight, completely drunk out of his mind, pissed off that I didn't have dinner waiting for him, and he hit me. Smacked me across the face and knocked me to the ground. Left a pretty bad mark," she said, lifting her hand and lightly trailing her fingers over the bruising around her left eye.

Daryl was staring straight ahead, gritting his teeth, and the hand that wasn't holding the beer was clenched so tight into a fist that the knuckles were white. Kate sighed and continued.

"So, you know, the next morning he apologized and it was fine.. until the next weekend when the exact same thing happened again. And then it just got worse from there... I told you about that earlier."

"And that's why you quit comin' around?"

"Well. No. I mean, at first, I didn't dare come back down here with a black eye. The last time I saw you..."

"The campin' trip."

Kate smiled. The last time she'd seen Daryl was a few months after she'd left with Corey. It was Labor Day weekend, and Corey couldn't leave because he had papers to grade, so Kate drove down and caught up with Daryl and Merle. The three of them had gone into the woods and stayed for three nights and four days, no cares in the world. It had been perfect.

"Right. The last time I saw you was probably one of the happiest times of my life. I didn't have to act like someone's wife. I could just be me, with you, and I was just so happy. The happiness followed me all the way back to Chattanooga.. and when I got there, Corey was drunk and my being happy annoyed him. And then, in his drunkenness, he of course concluded that I was so happy because I had screwed around on him. With Merle."

"What?!" Daryl laughed out loud.

"That's what I said. I told him, of course I didn't cheat on him, but if I was _going_ to cheat on him, it sure as hell wouldn't have been with _Merle._" She shook her head again. "Corey was always jealous of you, Daryl. Jealous of our friendship and how close we were. So the next conclusion he came to was that you and I were having an affair and he forbade me – _forbade me - _to ever see you again. I told him he couldn't do that, and he responded by knocking me out and..."

"And?"

"And forcing himself on me." Upon hearing that, Daryl had to set his bottle of beer down, because he was afraid he was going to break it. Kate continued, taking a deep breath and blinking, her eyes becoming watery. "After that, he had my phone number changed and only let me leave the house alone to go to work. He followed me everywhere. To the store, to the doctor.. everywhere. If I tried to fight him or go against him, he beat me. When my parents called, he always told them I was too busy to talk. I guess he was afraid I was going to tell them what was really going on. I put up with it for.. oh, three and a half years before I finally did something about it and got the hell away from him." Kate blinked then, letting a few stray tears run down her face.

"How'd you manage to get away from him?"

"He wasn't so careful one Sunday night when we were fighting, and I had a deadline the following day at work so I had to go in. I waited until he left the house before I washed all of my makeup off and went in with my bruises glowing. My coworkers helped me get an emergency restraining order and got me out of there, helped me prepare to move back down here and get my divorce expedited. They're all saints."

Daryl nodded, sipping his beer as he contemplated her story. Kate was quiet and stared straight ahead while she waited for him to say something, anything. He finally cleared his throat and she looked over at him.

"I'm glad your coworkers were there to take care of you," he said softly, a sad smile playing on his lips. "Give me their names and the address of your old office, I'm gonna send 'em flowers." Kate laughed.

"You are not."

"Am too. They helped get you back down here. I honestly never thought I was gonna see you again. Flowers is the least I can do." At that, Kate slid over to Daryl and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder as she hugged him. It threw Daryl off for a second, but he recovered and carefully slid his arms around Kate's back and held her as close as he possibly could.

"I missed you," she whispered, her voice muffled by his shirt. She sniffled, too, and Daryl realized she was probably crying on him.

"I missed you, too. Glad you're safe."

"I hope it stays that way."

"It will."

Kate looked up at him. "How do you know?"

"I just do. I've got ya, Katie. Ain't nothin' gonna happen to you anymore."

Kate smiled and put her head back down on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Welcome home," Daryl said, giving her a squeeze.

They sat like that on the couch for awhile, just silently holding and leaning on each other. Kate eventually fell asleep, worn out from the emotional and physical exhaustion of the day. Daryl didn't realize she was asleep until her soft snores became loud snores. Not wanting to wake her, Daryl settled further into the couch and pulled her down with him, letting her lay on his chest. He fell asleep with his arms around her. It was the best sleep either of them had gotten in quite some time.


End file.
